SLU to host Missouri Athletic Trainers Association Annual Meeting June 5-6th

The Saint Louis University Athletic Training Education Program and the Doisy College of Health Sciences is proud to host the MoATA Annual Meeting on June 5-6th, 2009 on our campus at the Allied Health Professions building.

Highlights of the program include:

Friday, June 5th
Annual Business Meeting
BBQ @ SLU on the campus Plaza
St. Louis Cardinals vs. Colorado Rockies

Saturday, June 6th
Mark Halstead, MD: “Lower Extremity Stress Fractures” (1CEU)
Scott Kaar, MD: “Nerve Entrapment Syndromes of the Shoulder”
Paul Nativi, DMD/ Anthony Breitbach, PhD, ATC: “Dental Case Studies” (1CEU)
Honors and Awards Banquet & Exhibits
Ben Verdine, MD: “Hand Fractures” (1 CEU)
Chantell Unnerstall, OTR/L, CHT: “Hand Splinting for Sports” (1 CEU)
Shawn Garlock, ATC, CSCS: “Upper Extremity Rehab Lab” (1 CEU)

Student Session
Mark Halstead, MD: “Shoulder Evaluation Bio Mechanics Lab”
Shawn Garlock, ATC: “Shoulder Rehab Lab”
Paul Nativi, DMD/ Anthony Breitbach, PhD, ATC: “Mouth Guard Lab”
Panel Discussion: Job & Grad School Application Process

For more information go to: http://www.moata.net/

SLU ATEP welcomes Newsham as new faculty member!

The SLU Athletic Training Education Program in the Doisy College of Health Sciences announces the addition of Dr. Katherine "Kitty" Newsham to the Athletic Training Education Program. Kitty joins the program as an assistant professor after working two years at the University of Indianapolis.

Kitty has a wealth of classroom teaching experience and has also been active in research, publications and presentations. Her areas of research include studying leg pain in athletes, students with disabilities and pedagogy in Athletic Training. She was awarded the Ohio Athletic Trainers' Association Recognition for Exceptional Research in 2005.

Kitty received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Health and Physical Education from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. From there she attended Western Michigan University where she obtained her Master of Arts in Physical Education-Athletic Training. She received a Doctor of Philosophy in Education Administration: Higher Education from Kent State University.

In addition to the University of Indianapolis, Dr. Newsham's professional experience includes serving as an Athletic Trainer at the University of Dayton, Kent State University and the Dayton Sports Medicine Institute. Kitty has received several notable awards throughout her career including Ohio Athletic Trainers' Association 2006 Athletic Trainer of the Year.

A native of St. Louis, she graduated from Incarnate Word Academy in 1981. Kitty officially begins her appointment at Saint Louis University's Doisy College of Health Sciences Athletic Training Education Program July 1, 2009.

Welcome New Students to Professional Phase of Program!

On Monday, May 18, 2009, the MAT Class of 2011 began the professional phase of their program. Four of the students are SLU students and six have transferred from other schools.

Jacob Blasingame - Collinsville, Illinois
Saint Louis University

Geanie Butts - Budapest, Hungary
University of Missouri-Columbia

Mollie Cole - Kansas City, Missouri
University of Missouri-Columbia

Meghan Gehrs - Belleville, Illinois
Saint Louis University

Laura Gosewisch - Homer Glen, Illinois
University of St. Francis

Marcella MacDermott - Valley Park, Missouri
Saint Louis University

Jeremy McNamee - Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania
Saint Joseph’s University

Emily Monahan - Muscatine, Iowa
Saint Louis University

Diane Schlesselman - Concordia, Missouri
University of Missouri-Columbia

Ann Schmerbauch - Affton , Missouri
Webster University

This summer they will be taking ANAT 400-Gross Anatomy and MAT 501-Principles of Athletic Training. They will begin their clinical experience in August.

Welcome to the program and Good Luck!

Rick Day's PLAYERS and ATHLETES!

The Book is called "Players" and the 12 month calender is called "Athletes."

To My Surprise I made the back cover Of the calender "Athletes" and I also have a few shots in the book "Players." You can purchase the book here on Amazon.com

And while your at it pick up the 12 month calender here at IconMen.com

Check out more of Rick Days beautiful work here.

SLU AT student King Named All-American by NSCA

The National Strength and Conditioning Association announced that four Saint Louis University student-athletes have been honored with its annual All-American Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year award. One of the Billiken Student-athletes named is athletic training student Heather King (Palos Hills, Ill. / Stagg) for women's basketball. Heather is among 207 collegiate athletes from 116 schools nationwide to be honored by the NSCA. The student-athletes were nominated by SLU's strength and conditioning coaches Scott Charland and Erick Schork.

Link to SLUBillikens.com Press release

Congratulations Heather!

Bryan Thomas Thoughts On Supplements...

This was a post I did on My Yahoo Health Group.

The question regarding Supplements came from one of the members.

"How do you tell what is good and what is crap?"

My Long but informative response:

I would say the best way is to stick to the basic supplements such as:

Fish Oil, Amino Acids, basic creatine, CLA, Whey and Casein Protein(Brands such as Optimum Nutrition or GNC)

And the BIG one is to try and stay away from any supplement that says... "proprietary blend"

This term is basically used to hide the fact the formula contains very little of the active ingredients listed on the bottle in an attempt to fool consumers.

These companies can have the smallest amount of that ingredient in the product but advertise and sell it as that product! Remember there is NO regulation!

Lets use Creatine for an example. The Label Will say something like:

"Propriety Blend" it will list a bunch of words and stuff that you cant even pronounce and then it will say "Creatine" but you have no idea how much creatine is in it! Um Scary!

Well for me personally I like to take about 5 Grams of creatine after a workout. (On Leg and Back day I take creatine before and after.)

So what I do is instead of buying a product such as "Super Pump" or "Cell Mass" im not trying to single anyone out there just the ones that pop into my head.(Good work marketing team!) I just buy the generic stuff.

Example: All That PUMP you up stuff can be bought at a fraction of the cost. Its Called L-Arginine and it works and I take it everyday.

To Sum this up as I need to get to the gym... DON'T LET the companies mix the stuff for you! Unless you want to spend a TON of extra cash because your favorite body builder or athlete is on the label quoted saying something ridiculous like....

"I take this super amazing product and in 2 weeks I look Like this!!!"

- #1 Lean Dude in the world (AKA Marketing Team of that particular product.)

NEWS Flash: He has most likely NEVER even tried the stuff and he is on another type supplement...And Barry Bonds,Mark McGuire and José Canseco are the poster children for it!


Now im not here to knock ALL of the supplement companies as there are many that want to provide their customers with a reliable product that will help them achieve their goals. All I am saying is DON'T Believe the hype and when it comes to supplements watch out for those two words "Proprietary Blend"

Ok well im off to the gym but before I go its time for some black coffee (my pump up drink!) and a little whey protein, L-Arginine, and Beta Alanine. I know exactly whats in it at a fraction at the cost.

A final thought... A "Supplement" is just that! It is to Supplement good training, Eating and Sleep. There is no magic pill out there as if there were I would be on it and I would tell of my followers about it.

The road to a healthy mind, body and soul is a long one. It takes years of hard work and practice. Trial and error. ups and downs. Progression and even some regression.

But in the end it is all worth it! This I can promise you!

Happy Supplementing!
Bryan Thomas

Photo Credit:Impact Photography

Darcy Downey Leads Distance Learning Sports Medicine Presentation

On Wednesday, May 6, 2009, SLU Athletic Training faculty member Darcy Downey led a distance presentation on Common Sports Injuries using cadaver demonstrations from the Practical Anatomy & Surgical Education Center in the SLU School of Medicine. The program is a part of the Adventures in Medicine and Science (AIMS) Program. Four Missouri high schools participated in the program: Glasgow High School, Pilot Grove High School, Otterville High School, and New Franklin High School.

Practical Anatomy & Surgical Education, Center for Anatomical Science and Education, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, is dedicated to the development and presentation of innovative medical, health, and science workshops. Practical Anatomy strives to promote the concept of lifelong learning by utilizing the latest technology to connect young people, residents, health care professionals, and surgeons to world-class experts and faculty. (click on logo to go to its website)

Adventures In Medicine & Science, (AIMS), is a youth community outreach program that provides health education and prevention information to students throughout the school year. With a combination of hands-on opportunities and 3-D demonstrations, students get a unique look at the human body. The program offers a prevention component that provides valuable information to students regarding health risks and how to avoid medical traumas. In addition, incoming juniors and seniors are provided with an opportunity to explore medical science during the AIMS Summer Workshop. AIMS is part of Practical Anatomy and Surgical Education in the Center for Anatomical Science and Education of Saint Louis University School of Medicine. (click on logo to go to its website)

Is Bryan Thomas too sexy for his shirt??

I was told I should post this...So I did!

I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoy doing things of this nature.

Life is a movie but its your movie so have fun!

I am too sexy for my life


*Note this was filmed waaaay before I even had a thought of becoming a model.

AT student Hannigan honored at Billiken Scholars Luncheon

"The Saint Louis University department of athletics honored 42 student-athletes at the "Billiken Scholars Luncheon" held Tuesday, May 5, 2009, at Lorenzini's in Chaifetz Arena. The luncheon recognizes all student-athletes who posted a straight A grade point average during the spring and fall semesters of 2008. Each student-athlete also invited an academic mentor to attend the luncheon to recognize their appreciation for the role faculty and staff play in their lives."

Athletic Training Student J.J. Hannigan, a sophomore track athlete from Arlington Heights, Illinois, attended with ATEP Program Director Tony Breitbach as his guest.

Congratulations J.J.!

Link to the official press release